The first grill of 2019

That's how the teams are after the first two races of the year. Great Mercedes, promising Ferrari, doubts in Red Bull and serious problems in Renault.

Australia is a different circuit that allows to draw few conclusions regarding the performance of the equipment, but Bahrain does allow to extract them, with a European-style circuit and track temperatures similar to those that will be found during the rest of the season. In addition, by its configuration, it is similar to China, with many braking and straights. In this order are the cars at this stage of the season.

1st. Mercedes W10 (Hamilton and Bottas).

Although they have been overtaken by the power of the Ferrari engine, Mercedes remains the reference globally. For performance of his car, which has a race pace as good as the Ferrari, and for the race operations, because in Sakhir they maintained their victory options thanks to a great tire strategy. Bottas has started fine and Hamilton will bite whenever he can, tell Vettel.

2nd. Ferrari SF90 (Vettel and Leclerc).

For pure performance, this is the best car on the grid, but not everything is performance in the current Formula 1. They have had reliability problems that they already suffered in the preseason and Lina, as Vettel has baptized this car, is difficult to configure in certain asphalts. In addition, it is not clear if in Melbourne the cooling of its engine also caused some problems. The good news is that Leclerc has made the leap to stardom, so Maranello has two tricks to fight for the World Cup.

3rd. Red Bull RB15 (Verstappen and Gasly).

Chassis problems and recurring configuration for the energy team, which has taken a step back and for now is closer to the middle class than the victories. Verstappen takes advantage of everything it has and that's why it has risen to the podium already with Honda, which has made a great engine, but for now it is the structure of the car that is not up to par. But Gasly still has a lot to prove.

4th. Haas VF19 (Magnussen and Grosjean).

It is the fourth car with some advantage in qualifying, although in the race it must still settle. Their problem: as a private team, they will have more difficulties to evolve during the season, something that their immediate pursuers should do. And as a small team, they still make mistakes in pit stops that throw the results of their big car overland. Magnussen and Grosjean have another year to convince.

5th. McLaren MCL34 (Sainz and Norris).

A good car that in race pace can get close to Red Bull seriously, but that must take care of its reliability to translate into points all those benefits. They have already failed engine and gearbox in two races, and from there come the zero points that Sainz adds with a car that must enter with some air in Q3 every weekend. Norris has started stomping and that's good for the team.

6th. Alfa Romeo C38 (Raikkonen and Giovinazzi).

As it was said in preseason, it is a good single-seater but not much less a Ferrari 'B' on the grid, although his evolution can make him earn that title. Kimi is still looking forward to Formula 1, fighting to score as if he were on podiums, although his Italian teammate still has experience so that Mick Schumacher does not threaten his wheel in 2020.

7th. Renault RS19 (Hulkenberg and Ricciardo).

Reliability is a problem both in the chassis and, above all, in the engine. So far they have suffered on the weekends since the first free practice, and that is extending the period of adaptation of Daniel Ricciardo, who for now has lost on the track against Nico Hulkenberg. If a year ago they practically had the fourth car, the step back is enormous.

8th. Toro Rosso STR14 (Kvyat and Albon).

Great progress in Faenza with a car that looks a lot like the Red Bull and that, on the track, fights with Gasly and puts more than one red. Its performance confirms that the problems of the first equipment are chassis, because the engine works in the STR14. Kvyat has returned to F1 with good impressions and the young Albon has already added his first points with a surprising ninth place in Sakhir.

9th. Racing Point RP19 (Pérez and Stroll).

Promise many improvements from now on, but apparently in the first two races of the season Canadians have a lot to do to get closer to the top-5. Sergio Pérez scratched a point in Bahrain and Stroll added two in Australia with a great strategic comeback, but the benefits of the RP19 do not extract the many advantages of the Mercedes engine. At the moment.

10th. Williams FW42 (Kubica and Russell).

A a world of all others and a world between them, with Russell ahead of Kubica, although the Polish ensures that their cars have little to do and that they are very fair spare parts in almost everything. The third largest team of F1 goes through its worst moment ever.